Karniga roused Randy from a shallow, uneasy sleep just as the city outside was hitting its nocturnal stride — the distant rumble of unseen machines, the far-off wail of sirens, the general hum of a world awake while the sun slept. Flanking Karniga stood two rats Randy hadn’t met before. They were burly specimens, with muscular frames and hard, watchful eyes that seemed to miss nothing.
"Meet Benny and Ponzi," Karniga announced. "They will be your guides and companions to this candy store. They know the city better than anyone, and they are experts in extraction strategies."
Ponzi offered Randy a wide, toothy smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Randy felt a small prickle of unease.
"So," Ponzi began, "what exactly do you know about this store?"
"I know the address," Randy replied, trying to inject a confidence he didn't quite feel. "And I know how to get in. I just need you to guide me there. I can handle the extraction plan myself."
Benny snorted. "See? What did I tell you, Ponzi? Kid knows everything. Doesn't need us at all. We're just glorified tour guides, apparently."
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Randy," Karniga warned. "And stay focused. This is strictly a scouting mission. Understand? Reconnaissance only. Once we know the layout, the risks, the best points of entry and exit, then a specialised team will be sent to prepare the extraction."
"That's correct," Ponzi added smoothly, nodding. "You're a clever mouse, Randy, we can see that. But these operations require careful planning. Sometimes, it's a one-time smash-and-grab — least preferable, risky. Best case scenario: we establish a way to keep extracting small amounts over a long period, undetected."
"Right. Yes, that makes sense," Randy nodded, feeling his cheeks flush. He felt a little foolish for his earlier bravado.
"Good. Then let's get a move on," Benny grumbled, already turning away. "Can't waste the whole night giving Extraction 101 lessons."
Ponzi, Benny, and Randy slipped out of the palace, their steps echoing softly in the deserted corridors. They made straight for the nearest gutter opening. The idea of plunging back into the city's foul-smelling underbelly sent a shiver of revulsion down Randy’s spine.
"Alright, mouse," Benny said as they descended into the dank, fetid darkness of the sewer tunnel. "Where exactly are we going?"
"743 King Avenue," Randy replied with a tight, sudden apprehension. What if they just took the address and abandoned him down here?
Thankfully, they didn’t, although they also didn’t seem too worried if he was left behind. They rushed ahead with practiced ease and Randy scrambled to keep up. The silence was broken only by the drip… drip… drip of unseen water and the occasional frantic scuttling of other nocturnal rodents in the shadows. After what felt like two hours of navigating the murky, echoing depths, they finally climbed up another drain and emerged onto a wide city street.
"Okay, here we are," Ponzi announced, gesturing down the broad thoroughfare, lined with darkened storefronts. "King Avenue. See those symbols on the buildings? They are numbers. That one's 680. This side is all even numbers. We need the other side for the odd ones."
Why were numbers on the other side "odd"? Both sides felt equally strange to Randy.
Eager to reach their goal, Randy took a step off the curb, ready to dash across the wide street. Suddenly Benny yanked him back hard by the tail, sending him tumbling onto the pavement. A split second later, a car roared past where he’d been, its headlights momentarily blinding, its engine a deafening snarl. It missed him by a whisker.
"Careful, kid!" Benny snapped, genuinely angry now. "Don't you value your life, or what? Look both ways!"
Shaken, Randy nodded quickly. After waiting for a break in the traffic, they scurried safely across the street. Randy found himself mesmerised by the dazzling array of lights still shining along the avenue, even at this late hour. Shop windows glowed, overflowing with strange and wondrous human merchandise.
"723… 725…" Ponzi murmured, reading the numbers above the doors as they hurried along the pavement. "7… 4… 3! This is it."
Randy looked up. His breath caught in his throat. There it was, a real wonderland; Chewy's candy shop. He scrambled up onto the wide windowsill and pressed his nose against the cool glass, his eyes devouring the display. Inside, bathed in the soft glow filtering from the streetlights, rose a magnificent chocolate castle. Its walls were crafted from slabs of dark, milk, and white chocolate; its turrets were capped with chocolate kisses; its moat shimmered with thick, blue syrup. Surrounding the castle was an enchanted forest of fluffy green cotton candy trees and sturdy candy cane trunks. The air, even through the glass, was thick with the intoxicating aroma of sugar and cocoa. Randy’s mouth watered uncontrollably.
"Get down from there!" Benny hissed urgently from below, yanking Randy’s tail. "Do you want us to get caught before we even set foot inside?" He turned to Ponzi, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Honestly, who is this idiot? Where did Capo find him?"
Randy slid down from the window ledge, too dazzled by the chocolate spectacle to even register the insult.
"Right," Ponzi said, all business again. "Let's find this entrance. You said you knew where it was, Randy?"
"Yes," Randy replied, his mind trailing with awe. "There should be a flap door for a small dog in one of the doors."
They checked the main entrance — imposing glass doors, firmly locked, no flap. They circled the shop, peering into the shadows of the side alley. They found a sturdy-looking back door and, set low within it, a small, square flap door, just as Chewy had described.
Randy rushed towards it, eager anticipation bubbling inside him. But Benny grabbed him again, holding him fast.
"Now you listen to me, mouse," Benny said with a distinct threatening edge. "We go in. We look around. We make mental notes — sizes, locations, potential obstacles. We grab a few small samples to take back to Capo. And then, we leave. We plan the proper extraction for another day. Understood?"
Randy nodded mechanically, his mind already lost in visions of chocolate rivers and marshmallow clouds. He just wanted candy, now.
The moment the last of them slipped through the flap door, a cheerful "Ding-dong!" chime echoed unexpectedly through the silent shop. All three froze, then dove simultaneously for the shadows beneath a large display cabinet, hearts pounding. They held their breath, listening intently. Would they hear human footsteps? Would a light flick on? After a long, tense minute, nothing happened. The shop remained silent and dark. It seemed safe.
"Alright, ease up," Ponzi whispered. "I don't think there are any humans in the shop at this time. Let's have a look around."
Ponzi and Benny moved cautiously through the shop, their expert eyes scanning the shelves, their minds cataloguing the vast, almost unbelievable array of colourful treats. The sheer variety was staggering. The more they saw, the wider their eyes grew, their initial caution giving way to professional excitement.
"This is an amazing bounty, incredible," Ponzi gaped at the room, giving Randy an approving nod. "Great job finding this place, kid. Very, very good. And with that flap door? Perfect! We won't even need to waste time digging tunnels through the walls to extract the goods."
"It gets even better!" Benny beckoned from the back of the shop. "There’s a storeroom back here! Sacks and sacks of candy, just sitting there! And look — all of them are open and beckoning! We could take a little bit every night, they'd never even notice!"
But Randy wasn’t listening. His entire being was fixated on the magnificent chocolate castle shimmering in the dim light. It called to him. Pulled him. He crept towards it, mesmerised. He navigated the sticky syrup moat via a liquorice drawbridge, reached the bailey, and took a bite from the walls. Oh! It was heavenly! The richest, sweetest, most delicious thing he had ever tasted. He took another bite, then another, lost in pure bliss.
Ponzi and Benny emerged from the storeroom, their faces alight with the thrill of discovery, only to stop dead, their expressions twisting into masks of horror as they saw Randy perched atop the castle, happily munching on a turret.
"No! Randy! NO! Get down from there! You idiot, you'll ruin everything!"
They scrambled frantically up the chocolate walls towards him. But the moment they found themselves surrounded by such overwhelming temptation, standing knee-deep in piles of chocolate shavings, their professional resolve crumbled. Benny broke off a large chunk of wall. Ponzi grabbed a handful of chocolate bricks. Soon, all three were lost in a frenzy of eating, biting, gnawing, forgetting everything else, until the magnificent castle began to look distinctly unstable, leaning precariously to one side.
Suddenly a noise from the back. A door opening and footsteps coming down the stairs, and then a human voice, soft and concerned, called out, "Chewy? Chewy, is that you, boy?"
In a panic, Ponzi, Benny, and Randy scrambled down the collapsing castle, diving headfirst back under the nearest cabinet, terrified.
"Damn it!" Ponzi hissed. "I didn't know they lived upstairs. Humans don't usually live in their shops — this complicates things severely."
"Who cares about complications now?" Benny whispered back savagely. "We already blew it. The second he," he jabbed a claw towards Randy, "started eating the display. There's no way they won't find out now. Just pray they don't figure out we came in through the flap door!"
More footsteps, a human male voice this time. He was barefoot, shuffling softly into the shop.
"What are you doing down here, dear? Come back to bed."
"I'm telling you, Joseph. I heard the flap door bell ring — Chewy must be back!" the woman insisted.
"Are you sure you weren't dreaming it, Madelyn?"
"I'm sure!"
"But darling, if it was Chewy, he'd be barking his head off by now," Joseph reasoned gently. "He always does when he wants us to come fetch him."
"Oh, Joseph, I miss him so much," Madelyn cried, choking in her own tears. "Where is our baby? What if he's hurt? What if he's suffering somewhere?"
Joseph hugged her close, comforting her warmly. "I know, dear. I know."
Listening from under the cabinet, Randy felt a pang of sympathy. And then, a grand, brilliant, utterly stupid idea sparked in his mind. He could help. He could reassure them. This time he wouldn't overthink it. He would just do it.
Randy darted out from under the cabinet into the middle of the shop floor and waved his paws frantically at the humans.
"DON'T WORRY!" he squeaked at the top of his tiny lungs. "CHEWY IS FINE — HE WILL BE BACK SOON! HE STILL LOVES YOU. I AM HIS FRIEND, RANDY — NICE TO MEET YOU!"
Madelyn, who had been sobbing quietly with her eyes closed, opened them, looking around wildly for the source of the strange squeaking until her eyes fell on Randy, gesticulating dramatically on the floor. She stared for a split second, uncomprehending. Then she screamed. A raw, piercing shriek of pure horror. In an instant, her grief morphed into incandescent rage. She lunged for the nearest broom leaning against the counter and raised it high, clearly intent on smashing the squeaking intruder into a pancake. Randy bolted, diving back under the nearest cabinet just as the broom crashed down where he’d been standing.
As the humans searched beneath the furniture, banging the broom handle, Benny gave Ponzi a sharp nudge and they scrambled towards the back door. The humans turned, hearing the scuffle, just in time to see the two rats squeezing frantically back out through the flap door.
As soon as they were gone, Joseph grabbed a small wooden side table and dragged it heavily across the floor, wedging it firmly against the back door to block the flap.
“Tomorrow,” Joseph said grimly, wiping his brow, “I’m blocking that entrance properly. For good.”
“But Joseph! What if Chewy comes back?” Madelyn wailed. “How will he get back in?”
“I’m sorry, Madelyn,” Joseph said firmly. “He’ll just have to wait outside. We can’t risk this. We could lose the whole business if we get infested with rats.”
“Please, Joseph…” she pleaded, fresh tears streaming down her face. But before she could argue further, there was a soft, sugary crumph! The chocolate castle, weakened by their earlier feasting, finally gave way and collapsed into a pathetic pile of chocolate rubble.
“Oh, dear Lord,” Joseph sighed. “It’s a good thing it’s so late. Imagine if customers had seen rats eating the display castle. What a disaster.” He shuddered. “Disgusting, filthy creatures, these rodents. They should all be eliminated,” said Joseph with contempt.
Listening from the darkness beneath the cabinet, Randy felt a sharp pain in his chest. Filthy? Us? Had they seen the state of their own city streets? For the first time, he thought he understood the root of Capo’s bitter hatred for humans.
“Good thing they all ran out,” Joseph continued, surveying the damage. “Now that the flap door is blocked, we should be fine.” He walked over and turned off the main display window lights, plunging the store into near-total darkness. “Come on, dear. Let’s go to bed. We have a lot of cleaning up to do tomorrow.”
The humans left, their footsteps retreating up the stairs. After a few minutes of tense silence, Randy cautiously emerged from his hiding place. His head was spinning — partly from the sugar rush, partly from the shock, partly from a profound and miserable sadness. Why did he always get things so wrong? Why did he think the humans would be kind to him? He was such a fool.
He lay on the cool floor for a while, trying to gather his scattered thoughts. Eventually, he dragged himself over to the back door, hoping that maybe there was another way out. There wasn’t. He could see only a thin sliver of the dark alleyway beneath the bottom edge of the door. He saw two pairs of gleaming eyes looking back at him. Ponzi and Benny.
“You are, by far, the stupidest mouse I have ever had the misfortune to encounter,” Benny’s voice hissed from under the door. “What in the name of rotting garbage possessed you to do that? Where have you been all your miserable life?”
A wave of shame washed over Randy. They were right, too right. “I’m sorry,” he managed to mumble.
“Don’t be sorry,” Ponzi snapped back. “Now it’s time for you to find a solution. You got into this mess, you get yourself out. You’d better find a soft spot on that wall and start digging. A tunnel wide enough for proper extraction. Understand? We’ll tell Capo you’re working on it. But he won’t wait forever. So you’d better get started. Immediately.”
“And stop talking to humans!” Benny added, and Randy heard them both snorting as their footsteps faded away down the alley.
Randy felt utterly, profoundly alone, and exceedingly stupid. Now he would have to dig. For days, maybe weeks. Maybe moons. He hated digging. He paced miserably back into the dark shop, trying to decide where the digging would be least unpleasant. Hidden under a cabinet felt wisest. He crawled beneath the one he’d hidden under before, examined the wall in the faint light trickling from the street. He took a tentative nibble. It was soft-ish plaster. It was doable. He should start now.
But all this stress and excitement had made him rather peckish again. And there were so many intriguing sweets he hadn’t yet tried, the allure was too strong.
“No…” he said aloud. “No more eating. Time to start digging — now.”
“Digging?” a soft voice inquired from the deeper shadows of the shop.
Randy jolted. But it wasn’t a human voice. He peered cautiously towards the dark storeroom at the back, where the sacks of candy were kept. And there, perched casually atop a bulging sack of chocolate peanuts, sat another mouse.
“Who are you?” Randy asked hesitantly.
“My name is Nadyr,” the mouse replied pleasantly. He had a strangely calm, affable air about him. “I live here.”
Randy felt an odd sense of familiarity, as if he’d somehow known this mouse his entire life.
“Oh! I’m Randy. It’s nice to have some company. Perhaps you could help me dig my way out of here?”
Nadyr smiled broadly, popping a chocolate-covered peanut into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. “But why?” he asked. “Why would we want to leave when we have all this?” He gestured around the storeroom, piled high with sugary treasures. “All this candy, just for us to enjoy.”
“But my friend’s life will be in danger if I don’t get back!” Randy urged.
Nadyr scoffed gently, waving a dismissive paw. “Oh, pleeeease. Your friend will be totally fine, I’m absolutely sure of it.”
“No, I really don’t think he will be,” Randy insisted.
Nadyr hopped down from the sack. “Besides,” he said conspiratorially, “you haven’t even properly explored all the different kinds of candy in this magnificent shop yet, have you?”
That was true, Randy admitted to himself. Knowing the inventory would be useful for Capo. He should probably sample everything thoroughly, just to make sure he knew which ones were the best quality. For the report. Yes. Strictly for the report.
Randy stood there, gazing at the rows upon rows of bulging candy sacks, thinking carefully where he should start.
“You look like the kind of mouse who overthinks things,” Nadyr observed. “Sometimes, Randy, you just need to enjoy the candy.”
“You’re right,” Randy said, a sudden surge of excitement replacing his worry. “You’re absolutely right — the sooner I get to sample all this candy, the sooner I can start digging!”
And so, Randy started rummaging. He plunged his nose into sacks of fluffy marshmallows, tore off clouds of pink cotton candy, gnawed on sticky caramel peanuts. He discovered sour gummy worms that made his eyes water, chewy gummy fried eggs that bounced satisfyingly, and chunks of toffee so hard they almost pulled his teeth out. And, of course, more chocolate. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate with nuts, chocolate with raisins, chocolate with crispy bits… By the end of his tasting session, he was so full he could barely waddle. He felt lightheaded, almost dizzy.
“Okay…” he sighed with profound resignation, leaning against a sack of jelly beans. “Right. It’s time… time to get to work now. Really.”
“Wait,” said Nadyr. “Before you start exerting yourself, shouldn’t you prepare a comfortable bed? You could make it right next to the digging spot for convenience. How about using some of that lovely soft cotton candy? And maybe some marshmallows for pillows?”
“Oh, yes!” Randy said, his eyes lighting up again. “And in the morning I can eat my bed for breakfast. Nadyr, that’s a brilliant idea!”
Randy gathered armfuls of fluffy pink cotton candy and squishy white marshmallows, arranging them into a cosy nest under the cabinet. It looked incredibly inviting, but he really should start digging now…
Except… he didn’t feel like working. Not one little bit.
“Don’t worry,” Nadyr’s soothing voice whispered from just outside the cabinet. Randy hadn’t even heard him approach. “You can start digging tomorrow. You’ve had a difficult, stressful day. Take a well-deserved nap first.”
“Mmm, yes,” Randy mumbled, already sinking into the marshmallowy depths. “Not a bad idea…” His cotton candy bed felt wonderfully soft and comfortable.
“Sleep, Randy,” Nadyr’s soothing whispers drifted from far away. “Rest well.”
Randy fell fast asleep, with dreams of candy dancing in his head.